The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Week 4
Oh my! How am I 3 days late writing about one of the most exciting games of this young season? I’ll just blame it on watching Pearl Jam totally destroy Philly Monday night. That and work. And some other things. But I digress.
I’ll try to breeze through this week, as I’m sure everybody is already anxiously awaiting our first divisional game on Sunday. But before we move on, let’s take a quick look back at the Eagles’ amazing comeback in Kansas City:
The Good
- Determination - That one word sums up the Eagles rather well. Sure, they fell at the end of the Falcons game, but they’ve shown the same determination to win in 3 of 4 games and come out with a 2-1 record when they could easily have gone 0-3 in them.
- McNabbulous - For the season he is now 110 of 174 for a 63.2 completion percentage, 1333 yards, 11 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. Let’s not eve get into how many team and league records he would break if he continues on this “crippled” pace. Let’s just enjoy the #5 ride.
- Weapon X - I was going to make some silly prediction at the beginning of the season about Dawkins being the Defensive Player of the Year. While still a long shot, it doesn’t seem so silly anymore. His play continues to be fantastic, and his leadership is almost without peer. If you have any doubts, just read the many articles about Dawkins saying, “They’re not scoring any more points on our defense” and then backing it up.
- Weapon LJ - Everybody that doubted LJ’s ballhandling take a second look at his stats this season: 26 catches for 265 yards and 2 TDs including 2 games with 9 catches. On top of that, he had one circus-style grab at the goalline to setup his own TD that cemented the Eagles lead. Let’s hold off the butterfingers talk until he fumbles a second time this season.
- But he’s OUR prima donna - Yeah, we’re all singing a different tune about T.O. these days. But he ran rampant against a secondary that appeared clueless as to how to cover the man. Another 100 yard 1 TD game hammers home just how valuable he is.
- Viva La France - The Eagles might not miss much of a beat while David Akers heals. France hit 3 of 4 field goal attempts in his first NFL game. Not too shabby! As for the early “missed” kicks, let’s just remember this: Detmer is holding from the opposite for he first time in years. Both kicks seemed to be problems with the snap, and I’m sure they are ironing out the kinks in practice as we speak.
- The $66 Million Man is back - Jevon Kearse had his first solid game of the season. One sack may not seem like much, but the Freak was disruptive and stopped plays in the backfield like he’s supposed to.
The Bad
- Not So Special Teams - What is up with the usually dependable Harbaugh unit? Wynn seems confused, the blocking is weak, penalties are plentiful, and Dante Hall ran one back cleanly! Another bad week for a group that seems bent on giving opponents midfield starting positions.
- One Dimensional - While I don’t truly believe this of the Eagles, sooner or later they will need to run the ball. Reid seems to be working Gordon into the game rather slowly, and its hard to complain after a game like this; but in the end, we’ve already been to the Super Bowl. Just overcoming odds to make it into the playoffs isn’t enough anymore. Reid needs to find all weaknesses in this team and squash them.
The Ugly
- Tell me if this hurts - Grasmanis and Dawkins leaving the field on one play reminded us just how fragile the hopes for a season can be. While we have the depth to overcome injuries, there’s only so many we can deal with at once - just look at the Patriots and their potential stuggles.
- Irrefutable my a$$ - I know we won the game. I know the Chiefs probably would have scored on the very next play anyway. But there is no way Hall got the ball across the goalline. His knee was clearly down with the ball about half a yard shy. The replay both has worsen over the years and the league really needs to address their officiating problems.
Parting Shots
While the defense has been giving up early points easily, the coaching staff has definitely shed that image of “unable to re-adjust.” Teams are not scoring on us in the second half. The Eagles D is stepping up their play when necessary - and it will become very necessary in 3 weeks when the Chargers come to town.
I’d also like to send a little love Reno Mahe’s way. While this 53rd man on the roster seems to get an unbelievably amount of derision from the Philly Phaithful, his solid play and commitment to the team demonstrates why Andy keeps him around. He is clearly more reliable than Wynn fielding punts, and keeps his head about him on critical plays like that onsides kick. His versatility provides us with insurance at different positions which actually frees up more roster spots for quality players. So please get off his back and cheer for him as you would any other Eagles player.
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Posted on October 6, 2005 by Thom | Filed Under Eagles, Philadelphia
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